Rug display means



March 21, 1939. L. E. LEATHERBURY 2,151,387

RUG DI S PLAY MEANS Filed May 18, 1958 [77V6 77 20 7' L 644/25 5. Leawerbwy,

5min 42 Zorney;

Patented Mar. 21, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RUG DISPLAY MEANSLewis E. Leatherbury, Elwood, Ind.

Application May 18, 1938, Serial No. 208,558

4 Claims.

This invention relates to means for supporting and maintaining objectssuch as rugs, rolls of linoleum, etc., in vertical positions and has forits primary object the provision of a very simple and yet effectivestructure that may be produced at relatively low cost, and which willengage and permit disengagement of the roll without use of tools or thelike.

Articles of the nature indicated, particularly linoleum rugs, must bestored in rolls on end to prevent damage. It has been a problem toarrange for such storage Without danger of the rolls falling over,particularly when one or more rolls are to be selected from a group fordisplay purposes or the like.

Myinvention provides for the support of each individual roll wherebythat roll is held securely in vertical position and cannot fall overeven though it may be bumped into, and at the same time the roll may bequickly taken from its retaining device.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be betterunderstood by those versed in the art from the following description ofthe invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig.1 is a side elevation of a structure embodying the invention;

Fig. 2, a top planview of the support for retaining the roll in verticalposition;

Fig. 3, atop plan view of the base on which the roll rests;

Fig. 4, a transverse vertical section on the line 4-4 in Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5, a detail in front elevation of a securing means.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalviews in the drawing.

'A supporting base Ii], on which the roll rests, is formed in anysuitable shape to conform to the size of the lower end of the roll to becarried.

In the present form, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3,-

this base II] is in the form of a disk having a peripheral upturnedflange. This base II! is pref erably mounted to be rotatable and isherein shown as being mounted on the bearing H and secured in place bythe central post 12 which extends upwardly from a mounting plate l3.

Further means are provided for engaging and supporting the roll at theupperportion thereof. Such means comprises a pair of arcuate arms l4 andI which are hinged or provided together by a pin 16 at their inner orrear ends, preferably by end portions turning outwardly from the generalcurve of the respective arms. A mounting bracket I1 is provided andthese arms M, l5 are mounted on this bracket, for opening and closingmovement by means of pins or rivets i8, 19 extending through slots 20,2| in the arms and engaging the bracket [1. These slots extendlongitudinally of the respective arms.

A coiled spring 22 is interconnected at its ends, by pins 23, 24, withthe arms l4, l5 back of the pins l8, l9 and forwardly of the hinge pin18 when the arms are in closed position, as indicated in full lines Fig.2. By reason of the tension of this spring 22, the two arms l4 and I5are pulled one toward the other into closed position, that is the outerends of the arms are pulled one toward the other to their inner limit oftravel as fixed by engagements of the pins l8 and ill on the side wallsof the respective slots 20 and 21 When in this closed position, theouter ends of these respective slots will be in abutment with therespective pins. In order to prevent shifting of the arms along thesepins, the outer end of each of the slots 20 and 2| is enlarged by acircular portion so as to provide a shoulder in the side wall of theslot in each case to bear against the pin.

The attaching plate or bracket I! carrying the arcuate arms is mountedin an upper position spaced from the base to have the arms in verticalalignment therewith. This bracket I! may be attached to a wall member25. Now when a roll 26 is to be carried by the device, its lower end isplaced on the base member ID and the arms I4 and I5 are pulled apart orseparated so as to provide a sufficient opening between their outer endsto receive the roll 26 therebetween. It is to be noted that when thesearms l4 and it are thus shifted to the open position, there issufiicient movement permitted by reason of the slots 20 and 2| inassociation with the pins i 8 and I9 to allow for the travel of therespective arms and to permit the spring 22 to be carried forwardly ofthe pins I8 and I9, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, wherebythe arms will be maintained by the spring in the full open position andat the same time the inner hinged ends of the arms will be forward ofthe bracket ll. Thus when the upper end of the roll 26 is pushed againstthe hinged inner ends of the arms the rearward movement of the latterwill overcome the pull of the spring 22 and carry the hinged endbackwardly beyond the line of the pins l8 and I9 to permit the spring 22to then pull the arms around again to a closed position, the tension ofthe spring in holding the arms in either open or closed positiondepending principally on the location of the pivotal connection Iii-infront of the spring and in the rear thereof in the respective positionsof the arms.

Accidental shifting of the arms l4 and I5 while the roll 26 is supportedthereby may be prevented by a link 2! having downturned ends engagingholes in the outer ends of the arms.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in the one bestform as now known to me, it is obvious that structural variations may beemployed without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I,therefore, do not desire to be limited to that precise form beyond thelimitations as may be imposed by the following claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a pair of arcuate arms, means hinging together therear ends of the arms, a supporting bracket, a pair of pins carried bythe bracket guiding said arms and limiting swinging thereof, and aspring interconnecting said arms back of said pins and forwardly of saidhinge means, said pin means being arranged to al-lowthe hinged ends ofthearms to travel forwardly of the line of the pins when the arms arespread apart, and said spring being further mounted in relation to thepins and hinged ends to be carried forwardly of the pins upon saidspreading.

2. The combination of a pair of arcuate arms, means hinging together therear ends of the arms, a supporting bracket,'a pair of pins carried bythe bracket guiding said arms and limiting swinging thereof, and aspring interconnecting said arms back of said pins and forwardly of saidhinge means, said pin means being arranged to allow the hinged ends ofthe arms to travel forwardly of the line of the pins when the arms arespread apart, and said spring being further mounted in relation to thepins and hinged ends to be carried forwardly of the pins upon saidspreading, said arms having slots engaging said pins, and a shoulder inthe outer portion of each slot for releasable engagement of the pinswhen the arms are in either the fully spread or closed positions.

3. The combination of a pair of arcuate arms, means hinging together therear ends of the arms, a supporting bracket, a pair of pins carried bythe bracket guiding said arms and limiting swinging thereof, and aspring interconnecting said arms back of said pins and forwardly of saidhinge means, said pin means being arranged to allow the hinged ends ofthe arms to travel forwardly of the line of the pins when the arms arespread apart, .and said spring being further mounted in relation to thepins and hinged ends to be carried forwardly of the pins upon saidspreading, and means interconnecting the outer ends of said arms when inclosed positions.

4. The combination of a pair of arcuate'arms, means hinging together therear ends of the arms, a supporting bracket, a pair of pins-carried bythe bracket guiding said arms and limiting swinging thereof, and aspring interconnecting said arms back of said pins and forwardly of saidhinge means, said pin means being arranged to allow the hinged ends ofthe arms to travel forwardly of the line of the pins when the arms arespread apart, and said spring being further mounted in relation to thepins and hinged ends to be carried forwardlyof the pins upon saidspreading, and means interconnecting the outer ends of said arms when inclosed positions, said interconnecting means comprising a link havingturned ends engaging the arms.

LEWIS E. LEATHERBURY.

